No secret to Athens woman's 103 birthdays

Maybe it was the daily sausage and biscuits. Perhaps it's because of her hard work ethic which includes three careers.

Or maybe it's because the good Lord wants Goldie Richards to keep praying for all those she raises in name to him every day.

Even Richards can't put her finger on the secret to her longevity. She is 103 years old and one of the few individuals on this planet who can claim to have lived during the 1800s, 1900s and 2000s.

''It's all up to my Lord,'' Richards said of her long life. ''I had wonderful parents who had seven children, and I'm the only one left.''

She celebrated her 103rd birthday Oct. 15 with family and the residents of the Family Life Enrichment Center in High Shoals. She's the oldest resident of the facility which boasts of several centenarians.

She's got poor eyesight, is hard of hearing, diabetic and sits in a wheelchair more for protection from a fall than anything.

''Aside from that she's in remarkably good health,'' said granddaughter Judy Sherling of Macon. ''She's had two broken hips which is why she stays mostly in her wheelchair, but one time when another resident of the home had to go to the bathroom, she got up and pushed her to the restroom.''

Richards said she is thankful the Lord has blessed her and helped her keep ''a little of my mind.''

She will quote Scripture verbatim on request. She'll gladly recite her poem on the months of the year she learned as a little girl. She'll tell you all about her family. But she continuously returns back to her devotion to the Lord.

''I've talked to the Lord all my life,'' she said. ''I pray for my children and grandchildren every day by name. I pray every day for the president, vice president, Supreme Court justices, senators and representatives in Congress, governors and the mayor.''

Richards has lived nearly all her life in Athens. She was born in 1898 in Madison County then moved when she was 6 years old into a house her father built in Athens. She moved to Florida after she was married and also lived in Winston-Salem, N.C., where she worked in a hosiery mill for 18 years until she retired.

In 1948 she came back to Athens to again live in her father's house, where she resided until seven months ago when she moved to the Family Life Enrichment Center.

Richards' maiden name was Bradley, daughter of James Walton and Susan Ingram Bradley. She can trace her family history back to the early 1800s.

She was married for more than 50 years to the late Walter H. Richards and they had four sons, one of whom died as a child. Her other three sons include Jack Richards of Gastonia, N.C., Pete Richards of Athens and the late Walter A. ''Jiggs'' Richards of Athens.

She has five grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.

She's been an active member of Oconee Street Methodist Church doing everything from cleaning to teaching Sunday School and giving sermons.

Richards got her first name in a most peculiar way, according to her granddaughter.

''She used to tell us that she didn't have a name when she was little, that her dad called her his 'Gold Dollar.' So when she started school and they went to sign the school certificate they put 'Gold D,''' Sherling said.

When Richards looks back on her 103 years, she said she doesn't remember having any hard times, except when she lost one of her sons as a little boy.

''I've had a good life. None of my boys ever gave me any trouble. This is a very nice place. I go to church every Sunday,'' she said, laughing that at 103 years old she can't do anything. ''I'm ready when my Father calls me. I just take one day at a time.''